Article-Library .Net

More than 100.000 Excellent Articles - Free Content for your Site.

Earn Money. ($73.568) | CNCHobby | Leona Sims | Hosting from 1 euro | Invite Friends. Get Paid.

Your Ad Here

Search:

Home | Writing

What Type of Paper Should I Use for My Book?

By: Joshua Prizer

Add this Article to your website/blog

With hundreds of available paper stocks, the decision of which paper to use for your print run can be overwhelming. Most of all, it's a decision determined by the type of book you are printing. A children's or coffee table book? You'll need a thick glossy sheet to help your color images stand out. A novel? Go cheap.

Let's start by clearing up a point of confusion among many looking to print their first book: the difference between bond and offset paper weights. When you purchase paper for your copy machine or home printer, you'll note paper is listed as something like 20# bond. What that means is that when the paper is manufactured at 17 x 22", 500 sheets of that paper weighs 20 pounds. However, offset paper for printing plants is manufactured in 25 x 38" sheets, which is 2.5 times larger than bond paper. So 500 sheets of that same paper stock now weigh 50 pounds. Thus, 20# bond is the same as 50# offset.

That 50# offset paper proves to be fine for many books. If your book has no or few images and no color inside, there is little reason to print on a much thicker paper. Save your money. You may want to check the pricing for 60# offset, but I usually don't recommend printing on paper much thicker than that for most novels, etc.

Don't assume that the 20# bond paper you saw at Office Depot is going to be identical to the 50# offset paper you asked your printer to use. It won't be. Different paper manufacturers produce their papers with different brightness, different opacity, etc. So always ask for paper samples from your printer.

Children's books or coffee table books that are printed in full color need a different paper stock than black & white books. You'll want to think about whether to bump up to a glossy stock to make your pictures really shine on the paper. If you don't like the glare of a glossy sheet, ask your printer if they have any matte coated stocks that would bring out the color of your images without the extra sheen.

Most full color books are printed overseas, where a different standard of paper measurement is used - grams per square meter (gsm). To calculate gsm, multiply the offset weight by approximately 1.5. So an 80# gloss sheet in the U.S. would be the same as a 120 gsm sheet overseas. You'll definitely want a thicker paper stock for your color book versus a black & white book.

I can't say it often enough: No matter which paper stock you think you want, ask your printer for some samples first.

When it comes to cover stock, for a paperback book a 10 pt. C1S cover is standard. However, it is usually very inexpensive to upgrade to a 12 pt. C1S cover. People do judge a book by its cover, so this might be a cost-effective upgrade.

More Articles: http://www.article-library.net

Josh Prizer is a print broker who has helped hundreds of people get a book printed. He is a book printing authority. For help with childrens book publishing, sign up for his Free 7-Part Mini-Course.

Add this Article to your website/blog

What Type of Paper Should I Use for My Book?

Please Rate this Article

Not yet Rated

Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Writing Articles Via RSS!

Additional Articles From - Home | Writing

Writing An eBook To Self-Publish Or Publish Traditionally - By : Connie Ragen Green
How to Decide How Many Books to Print - By : Joshua Prizer
Business Writing - Is this the most valuable lesson of all? - By : Mike at Business Writing Courses
Blogging To Build Your Profitable Online Business - By : Connie Ragen Green
6 Tips For Writing Top-Notch Press Releases - By : seomul Evans
How to Self Publish Using Book Templates - By : Daniel Millions
Research - Seek and You Will Find - By : Bernard Steele
Should Athletes and Warriors be treated equally? - By : Ben Needles
Top 5 Article Writing Tips - By : V. Dionio
Writing An eBook Instead Of Self-Publishing A Traditional Book - By : Connie Ragen Green

	Print This Article
	Post Comment
	Add To Favorites
	Email to Friends
	Ezine Ready Add this Article to your website/blog
	Free Games for your website/blog
	Free Video for your website/blog

Submit Articles
Member Login
Top Authors
Most Popular Articles
Submission Guidelines
Ezine Notifications
Article RSS Feeds
Directory
Submit your site for free

Free Content Creator
New Stuff
About Us
Site Blog
Link to Us
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
Other Links

Article-Library .Net

What Type of Paper Should I Use for My Book?

What Type of Paper Should I Use for My Book?

Sponsors